Blessed by the Watoto Choir

On Friday I was blessed to attend the one and only concert of the Watoto Children's Choir performed in Vancouver, British Columbia.  I've heard of this Ugandan choir for many years and have seen them on television but never had the opportunity to go and hear them live.  This year's concert was held  at the Vancouver Chinese Pentecostal Church in East Vancouver. Pastor Ivan Chu gave a few brief introductory and welcome remarks before turning the stage over for the evening.

This young man and his wife (not in photo) lead the contingent of the Watoto Children's Choir that travels throughout Canada for six (6) months each year. His wife conducts the choir. Together they have been travelling with the choir for the past 4 years.

the children give a very high energy performance.  I love the expressions on their  faces. When they are not dancing, speaking and singing, they are very serious about the message of the gospel.  They are also very young. The girl in the front with black suspenders is only 7 years old. I believe the eldest child is 12. There are also 11 adults who travel with the children, some who are playing the instruments, some who are looking after sound and so on.

The young girl in the red dress is living with her mom and travels with the Children's Choir. Her family is the recipient of help from something new the Watoto Ministries is doing, expanding their help and support to single mothers.  This girl's mother makes jewellery which is then sold by the choir when they tour.  This is how the mother can support her family. 

I was impressed by the heart of worship of these children.

I was moved by the lady in the black print top (red bow in her hair). Her mother was captured twice by Ugandan rebels. During the 2nd capture her  mother was murdered and she became an orphan. Watoto Children's Home gave her refuge and she now travels with the choir. There are many equally touching stories.

 

I was very moved by the children's concert and by the heart of love the adults seem to have. I know they were very tired as they have been touring for the past 6 months. They will be finished their touring this week and then have a break before returning home to Kampala.

I managed to make a video of their opening song "Signs & Wonders" which is also the name of their choir's latest recording and 2018 Tour. I hope you enjoy. 

If you would like to learn more about the Watoto Ministries, please click here.

Thank you for visiting. 

I leave you with a few shots of the sky on Monday about 5:30 a.m.

I'm joining in today with 

Our World Tuesday.

Memories of My Stay at Maasai Mara, Kenya

It has already been quite some time since I took a safari in Kenya. It was rather pricey but I thought it was important to go on safari at least once and in particular on my first visit to the country. Am I ever glad I did.

I went to the famous Maasai Mara Game Reserve (sometimes spelled Masai Mara) , one of the most popular destinations in Kenya.  I was fortunate to be there during the annual wildebeest migration, an awesome spectacle in which there are over a million wildebeest crossing the Savannah. Perhaps I will share those photos in another post once I lay hands on my older photo files.

In the few photos I'm sharing today you can see the beautiful elephants, including a baby elephant, a lone giraffe and several zebras.  I have so many more photos of the beautiful wildlife in Kenya some of which I've shared on this blog over the years.

In addition to the fantastic wildlife, some of which is sadly in danger of extinction, there is a wonderful variety of lodges to choose from when on safari.  I stayed at the beautiful Keekoruk Lodge which I thoroughly enjoyed. Not only was the lodge beautiful and decorated in an elegant rustic style which I so enjoy, but the grounds were meticulously cared for while the food offerings 3 times a day was simply stupendous. On safari you generally go out looking for game at 3 separate points during the day. After enjoying game watching and when dinner was over I would take a walk on the boardwalk behind the hotel. There I could watch and listen to even more wild animals that came to drink at the pond.

In an earlier version of this post I shared a video made by a couple of tourists who also stayed at the Keekoruk. They stayed in the main lodge but I stayed in a stand alone chalet that had a private deck in front. I've seen deleted that rather long video in favour of this shorter one. It gives a much better (and shorter) view of the entire lodge and the wild animals on the mara. I hope you enjoy it.

My room in the chalet looked a lot like the one below. This photo was taken off the internet as I don't recall where I've placed my photos of the lodge and my stay there. I recall my room as looking somewhat more luxurious than the one in the photo and also somewhat larger so perhaps this particular room is not in a chalet. I hope you do notice the rods protruding from the ceiling. This hotel has mosquito netting which encompasses all 4 sides of the bed and provides excellent protection from any mosquitoes which may find the way into your room. I don't recall seeing any at this establishment but the hotel is located near a body of water so I'm sure there are some mosquitoes around.  The mosquito netting will give you peace of mind and protection if needed.

I hope you enjoyed this post. 

I'm joining in with Eileen at

Saturday's Critters.